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Alexandria Ingham is a professional writer. She predominately ghost-writes in various niches, including fitness, finance and technology Everything is fully researched and well-written. Under her own name, she writes in the technology, business, history and weight loss niches

The One Thing Holding You Back From Getting the Writing Rate You Deserve

Did you know there’s just one thing holding you back from getting the writing rate you want and deserve? Yes, just one thing and it’s something that you can control.

The problem is that this one thing isn’t always easy.

What’s that one thing, I hear you ask? Well, it’s yourself.

Yes, you are holding yourself back from getting the writer rate you deserve. You’re stopping yourself and it’s usually due to a lack of confidence.

I’ve been there. When I first started writing, I couldn’t justify charging more than a penny a word. I thought that was a fair rate, since it didn’t take me that long to write a word. There was this lack of confidence in my writing abilities and skills. And I just didn’t know the industry enough to realize that I was seriously undercharging for my content.

There are still times now that my confidence can take a knock. I’ll question whether I am worth a rate. I’ll look at how long it actually took me to write a piece and wonder if I’ve ripped someone off.

Only you can change your mindset!

It’s up to you to decide that you are worth the rate that you choose. Nobody else will do it. Sure, you may get clients who praise you and want to give you a tip or bonus now and then, but they’re not going to tell you that you’re worth more. That means they have to pay you more and then don’t want to do that!

Your parents or your significant other may tell you, but do they really mean it? I know I questioned that because my confidence in myself was letting me down.

So, if only you can tell yourself that you’re good enough to get your writer rate, what steps do you need to take to help yourself? Here are a few steps that I took.

Boost Your Confidence With Client Testimonials

While I tell you that clients won’t tell you that you’re worth more, they will be willing to tell you how good you are. When you have a satisfied client, always ask for testimonials. This isn’t just going to be good for your confidence but also good for your business. Testimonials can be added to your website and help you gain more clients.

It’s also worth asking for referrals. Get your clients to pass your details onto people they know who are looking to hire writers. Don’t be ashamed of this. Even the biggest businesses will ask for this.

If you’re worried about what clients will say, you can always do some work for close friends. Ask them to give honest reviews and testimonials about your work to help boost your confidence. However, clients who aren’t friends are usually better since you know that the testimonial isn’t out of blind loyalty.

Ask Other Writers for Opinions of Your Work

Other writers can help you boost your confidence. You could also ask editors to do the same. Some writers will even do this for free, especially if you build a relationship with them first. Don’t email and just expect something for free!

Reviews and opinions of your work is a powerful way to boost your confidence, while improving your writing abilities. You get the chance to find out why other people enjoy your work. They’ll share some of your strong points, whether it’s the ability to connect with your audience or the way you phrase certain sentences.

At the same time, they’ll look out for ways that you can improve, such as getting rid of passive voice and improving sentence structure. You could even find there is little that you need to improve on in their opinion, which should boost your confidence further!

I found signing up to the Freelance Writer’s Den was one of the best things I ever did for boosting my confidence. There are sections specifically to get critique on your work and learn from other writers. This was my place to really learn how to charge for my writing.

Set Some Writing Goals That You Can Meet

As the human race, we tend to love achieving things. Our ego gets a boost when we manage to meet certain goals and accomplishments.

It’s time to help give that ego a boost. Set yourself writing goals and then work on achieving them. Make sure your goals are attainable. I’ve seen so many new writers set the goal to make $100,000 per year in their first year and then get disheartened when they are way off mark. Set the goal of $10,000 or $20,000 for the first year. You will find it much easier to achieve and you’ll build your confidence when you do meet it.

I find monthly goals much better. I have more control over what happens in a month. If I’d set goals this time last year for right now I would have been way off the mark. By April we made a huge change that wasn’t foreseeable!

Keep Practicing Your Writing

You will not be a genius overnight. Your writing will not be amazing and you won’t get all the clients you need on your first day.

It takes time and effort. You can build your confidence by practicing your writing on a daily basis. You can only get better and you will soon find yourself with clients lining up to hire you.

The more clients you get, the more confidence you will have. That is the time to start raising your rates. After all, you’re in high demand!

To practice it’s also worth taking some courses. One of the courses that I highly recommend is the Blogging to Get Clients by Sarah and Kevin Arrow. The Arrows are among the most supportive and down to earth business coaches and are definitely relatable. Out of all the courses I’ve taken in the past and the business coaches I’ve spoken to, the Arrows are the ones that I’m the most comfortable speaking to regularly.

It’s time to give your confidence a boost. You can do it and you will find that you are then able to increase your earnings and get the writing rate you deserve.

What are you struggling with the most when it comes to confidence? Feel free to share in the comments below and let me help you!

Alexandria Ingham is a professional writer. She predominately ghost-writes in various niches, including fitness, finance and technology Everything is fully researched and well-written. Under her own name, she writes in the technology, business, history and weight loss niches

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